St. Mary’s coach Bennett gets 5-game suspension

St. Mary’s men’s basketball coach Randy Bennett must serve a five-game suspension and won’t be allowed to recruit off campus this season as the NCAA has upheld penalties against the successful mid-major program for recruiting violations.

In making the announcement Monday from the NCAA’s infractions appeals committee, the athletics governing body denied Bennett’s appeal that included the claim of a procedural error involved. The school said Bennett’s penalty would begin on Dec. 30 at midnight for five games.

In March, the NCAA put St. Mary’s on four years of probation for a “failure to monitor its men’s basketball program,” reducing scholarships by two for the 2014-15 and 15-16 seasons.